Before I Hit The Ground
by poseysharman
Summary: Prompt: AU where Spencer and Toby meet at a bar


Hello, lovelies! I received a prompt for this once, and I was rereading it earlier and decided to revise and posted on here, so here you go! I really do love this idea, and who knows, maybe I'll turn it into something more ;).

Reviews & feedback is appreciated, as always!

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**Before I Hit The Ground**

Spencer sighed to herself as the bartender placed another drink in front of her. So this was how she spent her Friday nights? Drinking alone in a bar? Spencer wasn't even twenty one, only nineteen, and she was already becoming a regular at the bar down the street from her college due to a fake I.D she used far too much. It sounded pathetic, even in her own mind, but what else was there to do?

"Lawyer in training?" Spencer heard a voice beside her ask in an amused tone.

Spencer glanced over at the man beside her, lowering her eyes. "How did you know?" she asked suspiciously.

The man laughed. "Lucky guess. Scotch is the drink for lawyers," he said nodding towards her drink.

Spencer was quiet for a moment, her eyes studying in the man next to him. He was tall, and even through his light grey sweater, Spencer could tell he was well built under it. He was good looking, there was no doubt in Spencer's mind about that, but what drew her in to him were his eyes. They were a light blue color that looked almost faded, like they held as many stories, as many secrets as Spencer felt she did. She glanced at the glass in her hand, twirling it around before glancing back towards the man. "Do I look like a lawyer to you?" she asked after a moment, her voice low and curious.

The man shrugged. "You want the honest truth?" Spencer nodded, her eyes not leaving him. "No. If I saw you outside of this bar, I wouldn't have pegged you for a lawyer."

Spencer nodded, mostly to herself. "That's what I thought," she mumbled before taking a drink from her scotch. It was already her second glass of the evening, and though she was tall, Spencer was also small, and her body was slowly starting to feel the effect of scotch. "The name's Spencer Hastings, by the way," she said a moment after, extending her hand to the gentleman next to her.

"Toby Cavanaugh," he replied, shaking her hand firmly but gently all at once.

"So Toby," Spencer said, smiling (she really did like his name). "What brings you to this fine establishment alone, on a Friday night?"

Toby shrugged. "Letting off some steam after a long day of work. The usual."

"You came drinking alone?" questioned Spencer. "Wait, I didn't mean it to sound as judgmental as it probably did," she said quickly, "Especially considering I'm here drinking alone."

To her surprise, Toby laughed. "No, no I get it. I just needed a night for myself, away from everyone that's all. Though, I don't know, talking to you might easily change my mind." Toby grinned at the sight of Spencer's cheeks turning a light shade of pink at his compliment. "And what about yourself? What are you doing here tonight?"

"I…I don't know, actually," said Spencer, frowning. "I didn't really have anything else to do tonight."

"A pretty girl like you having nothing to do? C'mon, now," said Toby with a sly smile.

Spencer laughed, her cheeks turning more red. "All my lawyer friends turned in hours ago to make sure they got enough sleep...and all my closest, _actual_ friends are back in my hometown…which I just didn't feel like going home to tonight," she replied, shrugging. She wasn't sure why she was allowing herself to even be this open with a total stranger, but something inside her told her there was something trusting about Toby. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about him that made Spencer feel like he'd understand her better than most.

Toby nodded. "Looking to get away from your hometown; now there's a feeling, I know well," he mumbled.

"Hometown runaway too, huh?" Spencer said, smiling softly at him.

"You don't know the half of it," Toby replied, with an eye roll. "I use to live a few towns over before escaping as quickly as possible to here."

"Well, I can drink to that," said Spencer, lifting her scotch to lightly tap it against Toby's bottle of beer.

Toby smiled, tapping his bottle against her glass before taking a sip of his beer, his eyes not leaving Spencer. He watched as she took a sip of her own drink, her eyes closing tightly as the scotch touched her lips. He grinned to himself. "So, Spencer Hastings," Toby said after a moment. "I have a question for you."

Spencer glanced back at Toby, her eyebrows rising in curiosity. "Yes?"

"Are you sure you're old enough to be drinking?" He asked, his eyes lowering as a small grin spread across his lips once more.

Spencer stared at him for a moment. "How'd you know?" she finally said after a moment. "And don't tell me a lucky guess, because I've been drinking here for almost a year now and nobody's caught on," she said, her voice lowering so the bartender didn't hear her.

Toby laughed. "You close your eyes when you take a drink, like you're not use to the burning taste of certain alcohols yet." Toby laughed again as Spencer lowered her eyes in a glare. "When you spend far too much time like me playing the silent type, you pick up on certain habits that people have. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone," he added, winking.

Spencer glanced down at her drink. "Well when you come from a family like mine, sometimes drinking is the only solution," Spencer says quietly, but loud enough for Toby to hear. She doesn't elaborate further.

"So what about you?" Spencer said after a moment, picking her head back up to look over at Toby again, allowing herself to smile softly. "Are _you_ old enough to be in here?"

"Just turned twenty one last week," said Toby grinning.

"Well happy belated birthday, and thank you for giving me another reason to drink," Spencer replied, tapping her now almost empty glass against his before taking one, long sip from it.

Suddenly, both of their nights were looking up.

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"I don't want to be a lawyer," Spencer blurted it out suddenly. The duo was now an hour into their conversation and Spencer into her third glass of scotch, and almost have of Toby's beer. "And I'm supposed to be applying to law school come next fall and I have absolutely no desire to be one."

Toby shrugged. "So then don't become one," he said simply.

Spencer gave him a look. "You don't know my parents. Veronica and Peter Hastings' daughter not becoming a lawyer like her parents? Well that's just absurd!"

"It's your life. Why should you care what your parents think of your choices? Do what makes you happy, and screw the rest. That's what I did."

"If only it was that simple," mumbled Spencer with a grim smile.

"It is, though," replied Toby. "You don't strike me as the type that puts herself first. You don't know how to. Everything you do is to please someone else, correct?"

Spencer nodded. "Pretty much," she said, taking another sip of her scotch. She glanced down at her watch that read it was past one in the morning. "Wow, I'm going to be a mess tomorrow," said Spencer, laughing.

"I think that's enough scotch for you then," said Toby, reaching over carefully to take the almost empty glass out of Spencer's hand. "Come on," he said, helping Spencer off her bar stool. "Let's get you home and safely into bed."

"I hope that wasn't your way of trying to invite yourself into my bed," joked Spencer, rising an eyebrow as she smiled.

Toby laughed. "Oh you didn't know? Yeah that was my plan all along; to help you back to your dorm and follow you up to your dorm in hopes that you just don't notice."

"Well I wish you good luck with your plan," she slurred, laughing. She followed Toby outside. "Walk me back to my dorm?" Spencer asked hesitantly.

Toby nodded. "Of course," he said. "Can't have you trying to figure your way back alone." His steps quickly matching Spencer's as they walked towards her college.

"You know, I'm glad I met you tonight, Toby," Spencer said softly as they reached her dorm room, genuinely meaning what she spoke. "You made the night surprisingly not suck."

"Back at you, Spencer," Toby replied, softly smiling. Before he could stop and think about what he was doing, Toby leaned in to place a soft kiss on Spencer's lips.

Spencer closed her eyes, a smile spreading across her lips. "That was nice. Can I maybe get more of that?" she asked.

Toby laughed. "Tell you what," he said. "Hand me your phone." He waited until Spencer handed him her cell phone, a questioning look on her face. He quickly typed a few numbers into her phone. "You now have my number saved in your phone. I made the first move, so now it's up to you to make the next one."

"Okay," Spencer said quietly, smiling.

"Goodnight, Spencer Hastings," said Toby with a small nod before turning away to head back to his car still parked at the bar.

"Goodnight, Toby Cavanaugh," Spencer whispered, holding her phone tightly in her hand, her mind racing with the possibilities she had with Toby.

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**Please Review!**


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